Brown Eyes
by AmateurSheikah
Summary: Wizard Howl is vain and selfish-and has been his entire life. But when his castle is invaded by a mysterious girl disguised as a crotchety old woman, Howl finds himself doubting the looks and charm he had always depended on. Add that to a crazy moving castle and unavoidable summons from the king, what's a cowardly wizard to do?
1. Old Sophie

**Hello! I love Howl's Moving Castle, whether it be the book or movie, and had always wanted to write a fic about it. So now that I finally have, I'm really excited to see how it is received. I really wanted to see things from Howl's perspective, and I think I was able to write his character fairly accurately (I hope xD). I wasn't really sure if I should write it based on the book or movie, but I eventually chose the movie because it seems that that's what more people are familiar with. But, I will use some scenes that only happen in the book to show more growth in Howl and Sophie's relationship. I also plan on writing longer chapters in the future, because I know this one is a bit on the shorter side. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I promise the A/N will be shorter in the future. :)**

The Wizard Howl took pride in his power, looks, and charm. To keep all three of these qualities, a wizard such as himself could not have the weakness of a heart. So he had hidden it with a fire demon, which, he had always told himself, was a selfish act completely to his advantage. Oh sure, the demon would have died if Howl hadn't created their contract, but that was beside the point. If a good deed or two came from his wickedness, so what? Howl didn't care in the slightest.

Howl lived in a large castle. He had shops in Porthaven and Kingsbury as well, which were connected to his castle. Oh yes, and his castle moved around the land on four gigantic, clawed feet. Big deal.

His castle had one other occupant beside himself, two if you counted the demon, Calcifer. The other resident was a small child who had appeared one day, a cold, shivering orphan from Porthaven named Markl. Howl took him in solely because he desired someone other than Calcifer to talk to, and he became Howl's apprentice so Howl had something to do when he was bored. Again, this was all for Howl's benefit, and no one else's. At least, that's what he tricked himself into believing.

. . .

It was May Day, and Howl was on his way back to the castle. His blonde hair blew in front of his eyes as he recalled the prior day's events. As usual on May Day, he had slyly went through the crowds of Market Chipping, scoping out women.

One girl in particular had stood out to him, but not in the usual way women stood out to him. A young girl, no older than 19, dressed in a faded green dress you would see on an old woman. He had saved her from two nosy guards, who had other thoughts than protecting Ingary on their minds. Of course, that was when the Witch of the Waste, his ex-lover and rival, had decided to attack him. Her slimy henchmen had been following him all day, much to his amusement, but really, could they have chosen a less convenient time to charge him? Having no other choice, Howl took to the skies with the girl, amused by her fear. He had turned on his charm, telling her she was a natural. When he had reached her destination, he left her with an over-the-top, "That's my girl," and jumped off the balcony into the swarming crowd below. He always was one for a good dramatic exit. His favorite part of the whole ordeal was that the girl hadn't seemed flattered or happy to be be literally swept off of her feet. Frankly, she seemed to be silently screaming, "Why me?" the whole time.

By the time he had reached the castle, it was early morning. The sun was already a good way into the sky. But Howl wasn't at all tired, even though he had been up all night. As he stepped into the familiar grit of the castle, he heard sizzling and unfamiliar raspy voice saying, "Hold still. I need to crack the eggs."

Markl was the first to notice Howl's return. He looked helplessly at the wizard, and then to a stout old woman who was bent over Calcifer with a frying pan, and seemed the be quite enjoying herself. "Who on earth are you?" he interrupted.

The old woman jumped. She turned around quickly and looked Howl in the eye. The fear shown in them reminded Howl of the girl from Market Chipping.

The woman regained her composure. "Sophie."

He cocked an eyebrow. "How did you make Calcifer bend down?"

A muffled voice came angrily from underneath the frying pan. "She bullied me!"

"Not many people can do that," he said. He felt almost no emotion from the situation. That often came from not having a heart. "Calcifer only likes me to cook on him," Howl continued. "Pass me the frying pan."

Sophie obeyed-grudgingly-and sat down in an old armchair. "Tell me why you've come here," Howl said while cooking their breakfast on the still disgruntled Calcifer.

"I'm your new cleaning lady," she said. _Lie._

"Calcifer hired me." _Lie._

"After all, this place is filthy." _Truth._ Howl chuckled to himself.

"You can just call me Sophie. Old Sophie." Strange-another lie. But what was she lying about? Howl decided to study her.

The rest of that day went by uneventfully, except for two invitations from the king and some furious cleaning from Sophie. But, later that week, Howl finally discovered what was so strange about Sophie. She was under a nasty curse, one of the Witch of the Waste's by the looks of it. Late one night, he confided in Calcifer about it. When Howl asked Calcifer if he had noticed the curse, he had actually laughed. "Took you that long to notice? Geez, Howl, sharpen up."

"I've had other things on my mind, thank you!" Howl protested. He sighed. "What do you think the affects of the curse are?"

Calcifer didn't answer for a moment. When he did, it was annoyingly vague. "Wasn't it strange how she said 'Old Sophie'? As if we couldn't already see that?"

Howl knew Calcifer knew more than he was letting on, but decided not the push the matter. He decided to let Sophie stay. A good mystery was just what he needed between girlfriends.

. . .

The smoke burned Howl's eyes. He flew over miles of wreckage and fire. This war had gone on long enough. The only people not suffering were the king and his war consultants. Twice now he had see swarms of demons. But he knew better. They weren't really demons, but witches and wizards who were forced to turn themselves into savage monsters to aid a pointless war. He knew many of them were fated to never be the humans they once were, eternally trapped as a mindless slaves for the king's bidding.

If Howl hadn't known better, he would be with them as another living shield for Ingary. He knew he couldn't ignore the king forever. He hated to admit it, but he was terrified of the the war, the king, and _her_. As usual, he looked for a window out. But the only window he cold see required actual effort on his part, which he was not willing to give.

Tired of the carnage, he left. When he stepped through the veil of nothing over the door, he expected to turn back into his human form. When he didn't, he knew time was running out faster than he had hoped. Luckily, there was no sign of Sophie or Markl. But Calcifer saw him right away. "Yeesh, Howl. I saw you and thought we were being attacked by a demon!"

Howl could only reply with a low growl. That was what he was now, wasn't it? A demon.

Calcifer looked worried. "You know what this means don't you?" he said. Howl didn't answer.

With a painful grunt, Howl forcefully changed himself back. He felt more exhausted than he had in years. He shuffled up the creaking castle steps into his room. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he dissolved into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I plan on updating once a week, but who knows? It might be faster or slower, depending on my schedule. I apologize for not being able to give more definite update times. If you liked it, please review with suggestions, constructive criticism, or just something you liked. If I get any reviews, I will reply to them in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Fragile

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I said a week between updates on chapter one, but I totally lied! Right after I published this story, my schedule got really busy really fast. Once things cleared up I didn't really have much inspiration, so the empty doc just sat there taunting me. Finally, a few days ago, I got an alert saying a had a new favorite/follower! This made me so happy, because it meant people were still reading and liked my story. :3 I felt like I couldn't leave my five wonderful followers waiting anymore, so I wrote this. I know it's short, but I wanted to publish soon. Expect the next update in a few days (for real this time). Thanks!**

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Within a few weeks, the castle fell into a new sense of normalcy. This surprised Howl, because he had a feeling Sophie's presence in the castle wasn't going to last very long. He expected her have heart failure and die or something in the first couple days. At first, Markl had complained about her and begged for Howl to throw her out or turn her into a snail, but now every time Howl came home Markl showed him another amazing thing Sophie had done. Even Calcifer seemed to like her, though he would never admit it.

Howl had never met anyone like Sophie before. She was fierce but optimistic, and remained tough and kind at the same time. She had an inhuman work ethic that showed when Howl looked at the state of the house. He realized that he couldn't remember that the walls were painted yellow. Maybe they weren't. He wouldn't have been surprised if Sophie had painted the walls in her spare time.

One night, Howl came home later than usual. He was exhausted from watching the war again, and sat down in front of Calcifer as soon as he walked through the door. He nearly fell asleep right there, but knew he couldn't. If Sophie or Markl saw him in his demon form he would have to explain everything to them and, in Sophie's case, likely calm them down from seeing him as a monster. That all sounded boring and time-consuming, so it was easier to just keep it a secret.

As usual, Calcifer knew exactly what Howl was thinking. It made sense that he knew, as he had Howl's heart and could feel what Howl was feeling, but it still annoyed Howl that he always had someone in his head. Calcifer looked at him and muttered something. Howl had his eyes closed, but raised an eyebrow and said, "What was that?"

Howl knew exactly what he had said, but still laughed as Calcifer said, "Coward. I called you a coward."

"I am well aware of my cowardly nature, thank you. Now leave a tired man to rest," Howl retorted. He sighed and allowed himself to doze. He did not yet have the strength to become human again. He sat contemplating his existence, as we all do, but was interrupted by a faint shuffling noise. For one moment his blood went cold, because he thought Sophie had woken up or Markl wanted a glass of water. He relaxed when he discovered it was only Calcifer grabbing a log from a small pile beside him. "Isn't this great?" he said. "Sophie put these here for me."

Howl rolled his eyes. Another amazing thing Sophie had done.

He braced himself, and began his painful transformation back into his normal self. He nearly passed out from the effort, but managed to successfully transform with only a spare feather here and there. When he was finished, Calcifer looked at him. "You can't keep going out flying like that. One of these days you aren't going to be able to turn back into a human," he said, and Howl heard genuine worry in his voice. It was rare for Calcifer to show concern of any kind for anyone but himself, and Howl knew this, but that didn't stop him from failing to acknowledge the fire demon except for a tired grunt.

After a few minutes of Howl resting and Calcifer munching on a log, Howl slowly opened his eyes. He knew he shouldn't sleep in the chair, and felt filthy. "Get hot water for my bath," he yawned, and pulled himself out of the chair.

Calcifer looked up suddenly. "What, now? C'mon, Howl, it's way past midnight!" he protested angrily.

"I'll probably also dye my hair," Howl called over his shoulder.

Calcifer was beyond words. "Howl! You can't be serious! HOWL!" he yelled. "No one in this house does any work besides me and Sophie!"

As Howl walked towards the steps, he heard shuffling again. He realized it was Sophie stirring from all the noise he and Calcifer were making. He walked over to her small sleeping space under the steps to make sure they hadn't woken her. He pulled aside the thick green curtains, but he didn't see the wrinkled old lady who had been cleaning his house. Instead, he saw a young girl who looked just shy of twenty, with long brown hair and a plain but pretty face. He realized this was Sophie, but this was the way she really looked. This was her curse. So much for an intriguing mystery. As Howl looked at her, he realized that this Sophie did not have the unbreakable fierceness that the other Sophie had. This Sophie looked...fragile. Howl felt like if he touched her, she would shatter into a million tiny pieces. This Sophie looked timid and quiet. Howl almost laughed at the thought of the other Sophie being timid.

After what was probably too long, Howl let the curtain close on the other Sophie. He slowly walked up the steps to the bathroom. The whole time he was bathing, he was lost in thoughts of his new revelation. His theory on why the two Sophies were different was that the young Sophie used the old Sophie's age as a way to be more confident without feeling ashamed. He decided to not let on that he knew about the curse. It certainly wasn't because Howl didn't want to destroy Sophie's confidence, but only because it was amusing that he had a twenty-year-old elderly woman running around cleaning his house.

He sat and relaxed in the bath, thinking about how this could be one of his last before his time ran out.

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 **Thank you again for reading. :) Please leave a review, and you can even follow Brown Eyes if you think I deserve it after my very rude neglect. xD One more thing: how should I reply to reviews? Should it be in the end A/N, a PM, or do you even want a reply? For now, I'm just going to do it after every chapter.**

 **Review Reply:**

 **James Birdsong: Thank you for the review! I am really happy you enjoyed it. :)**


	3. Melancholy

**Hello! Sorry this chapter is a bit late. I promise I'll try to find a regular update schedule. Anyway, enjoy!**

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Howl froze. The temperature in the steamy bathroom seemed to drop fifteen degrees. His hand shook as he looked at the hair dye he was holding. This color mixed with the one had already used would make—

"SOPHIE!"

—Orange.

His hair looked like a bad sunburn. Orange clashed with his blue eyes, and would completely ruin the suit he was planning on wearing. As he looked in the mirror he was still shocked, even though he knew what to expect.

He ran out the bathroom covering his face in a panic, and ran into a wall on his way out. He just barely made it down the steps as he flew at Sophie clutching his hair.

"Look what you did to my hair! LOOK!"

She paused. Finally she said, slightly confused, "What a pretty color!"

PRETTY? How could she–It was the opposite of pretty. "WRONG! Wrong! I specifically told you not to get carried away!"

"I just organized things." How could she be so calm?

Howl's anger melted into despair. He collapsed into a chair. "Now I'm hideous..."

He sat there sobbing, hoping they were watching and felt bad for him.

"Howl, look at it now! This shade's even better!" Sophie said, sickeningly unfazed and cheerful.

When she got no response, she gently put a wrinkled hand on Howl's bare back. "There, there. We can just dye your hair back again," she comforted.

Howl barely heard her. He was using his misery to perform magic that would show Sophie and the others exactly how dismal the situation was. "What's the point of living if I can't be beautiful?" he said dramatically.

As Sophie pulled her hand away, Howl heard her sharp intake of breath. He knew she felt the thick, green slime that was created when Howl used this particular type of wonderful magic.

"He's calling the spirits of darkness! I've seen him do this once before when a girl dumped him," Markl said excitedly.

Howl was using the magic of self-pity.

He heard creaks and moans as the magic took effect on the castle. He heard Sophie gasp in fear as she watched her new home become dark and unfamiliar. Howl realized this was the first time she showed any fear since coming to the castle.

It seemed this final bit of insanity snapped Sophie's patience. "Fine! You think you have it bad?" she yelled. "I've never once been beautiful in my entire life!"

Howl heard a door slam and knew she was gone. "Sophie!" Markl screeched. He heard small footsteps run to the door.

"Let her be, kid," Calcifer sighed. "She'll come back when she's ready. She just needs a minute."

The footsteps reluctantly stepped away from the door. They walked toward Howl. "You shoulda' been nicer to Sophie. She was just trying to help."

"At this rate you're gonna drown me with that disgusting goop, too," Calcifer chimed in. What was this? They were supposed to feel bad for him!

Howl decided to do exactly as Calcifer said. He slumped forward, and at least a gallon of slime rushed at Calcifer. He knew that this could kill Calcifer, and by extent himself, but he wasn't concerned. He had no more reason to live, and would prove a point before he died. Two birds with one stone.

"Aww, Howl! C'mon! Don't do this!" Calcifer protested as he moved to the top of a log, a chunk of wood in his spindly arms.

Howl just sat there, refusing to react. Markl must have caught on to his plan, because he ran to the door, opened it, and rushed outside to Sophie.

Howl tuned out Calcifer's cries, and steeped in his self-pity and slime. All hope was lost. If he didn't have his looks, what did he have? What could he do with an incredible castle and powerful magical abilities without being gorgeous too? It would be better to die.

Dimly, Howl heard a door open. Voices came closer, and he felt his chair squeaking across the floor. When he hit the steps, a strong arm hoisted him up. He heard a soft splat, and his midsection was suddenly cold. A tiny gasp came from the owner of the arm holding him up.

Eventually, they seemed to reach the top of the steps. Howl was dragged towards the bathroom. It didn't take long; slime helped to drag a person across the floor. Another person pulled Howl into the bathroom. The first person was gone, and the second ran to the bath and turned on the water. Howl thought he could make out the words, "Master Howl". Markl. Howl was in the fetal position on the floor, with no intention of moving.

He did move, though, when he was blasted with an ice cold jet of water. He opened his eyes to see a miffed Markl, arms crossed and fuming.

"You're gonna scare Sophie away! She's the best thing that's ever happened to this place," he scolded. Howl looked at him and was, strangely, at a loss for words. He always had a comeback up his sleeve, so he felt vulnerable when he couldn't make words come.

All he could croak out was, "Why?"

Markl looked at him like he was crazy. "What do you mean 'why'?" he thundered. "How can you not see how much we need her? You think she just cleans and makes everything look good, but she's so much more than that! She makes this place happier. I see it! Calcifer sees it! Why don't you?" He paused and seemed to remember his place, but still added, "Can't you see you're happier?"

Sophie made him happy? Markl sprayed Howl again, this time with warmer water. Howl became a lifeless doll, but his mind was racing. Sophie made him happy? Markl gave him new clothes and left him alone. Nothing was truly registering in Howl's currently slow and confused mind. He was frustrated. Sophie made him happy? He usually was above everyone else, watching as they fumbled with their thoughts and words. He didn't like it the other way around.

Howl eventually got dressed, after putting on his pants inside out and buttoning his shirt wrong twice. He looked in the mirror. His hair was now jet black, his natural color. He never understood why people valued things being natural. Why use what you have when you can use something better? He decided to keep his hair black. Maybe he could make natural the new artificial.

He stepped outside the bathroom. He noticed Sophie had already mopped. Unsurprising. He shuffled towards his room at the end of the hallway.

Howl opened his door and felt the familiar sense of pride when he saw his bedroom. His room was an extremely accurate representation of the inside of his head. Just less girls.

He looked at the chaos he created. Several magical ingredients and artifacts littered the floor and walls. Pendulums rocked back and forth to different beats, each following its own rhythm. Ribbons and strings of beads hung from the ceiling that interlocked and intertwined. His contract to be a Royal Wizard hung on a dartboard. Howl found that his aim improved drastically with the contract as his target.

Howl sat down on his musty bed, disturbing a layer of dirt and causing it to float into the air and settle in a new spot. He covered himself with the covers and closed his eyes. This was his much needed chance to analyze his thoughts in peace. His mind wandered to what Markl had said. When he had said Sophie made him happy, he was confused. Now he was just amused. Markl was a child. What did he know about happiness?

In the back of his mind, Howl asked the same question of himself. He quickly brushed that thought away.

It had been a few weeks since Howl discovered Sophie's curse, and he no longer thought of her as an elderly woman. A few times after he came home, Howl looked into her cubby under the stairs to find the same young woman. It was almost as if he was checking to make absolutely sure she was real.

The sleeping woman and the Sophie Calcifer and Markl spoke of seemed kind and intelligent. When she rearranged his bathroom, she made it very hard for Howl to see that side of her. How could that make him happy? The thought seemed absurd now. Despite this, something nagged at the back of Howl's mind, almost as if something was missing he needed to see the whole situation.

He shook his head, as if to clear the thought away. It didn't matter. He was still a vain and powerful wizard, even if he was slightly less beautiful. He left that to console him as he fell into a light sleep.

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 **I know this wasn't the best chapter, but I hope you still liked it. Please remember to give feedback, and I'll reply to it in the next chapter. x3**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **GhostPikachu~** **Hi! Thank you for the kind review. Feedback on my stories always makes my day. I was really worried about how well I was writing everyone's characters, so when you said I was doing something good job it was huge relief. I was also really flattered when you said that Howl telling himself that he was selfish was a stroke of genius. That made me so happy! x3** **I thought Howl wouldn't see the exact effects of the curse at first because he usually doesn't see anyone's problems but his own. I didn't think it bad a huge impact on the story, but I probably should have made that clearer. Sorry!** **I hope you continue to enjoy the story. ;)**

 **Marina Rose~** **Thank you so much for both reviews and the compliment about my writing style! :) I'm glad you think Howl is in character. I was honestly worried about that, because he is such a strange and usually withdrawn character. Please continue to read and review! :3**

 **Rukia Kuchki (guest)~** **Aww...thanks! I appreciate you complementing my descriptive language. That has always been one of my trouble spots, so it makes me happy to hear that you think I'm doing a good job. :D**


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